


Because You Were Drunk

by T-Phon (TahnosTisiphone)



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Drabbles, F/M, FMA Week 2015, Fluff, Humor, Romance, Royai - Freeform, alcohol use, royza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-20
Updated: 2015-04-20
Packaged: 2018-03-25 00:51:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3790477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TahnosTisiphone/pseuds/T-Phon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Day 1, Trust: Roy brings Riza drinking with him, trusting that she'll keep him from doing anything stupid. RoyAi Oneshots written for FMA Week 2015.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trust: Because You Were Drunk

**Author's Note:**

> Written for FMA Week 2015, Day 1: Trust  
> Roy brings Riza drinking with him, trusting that she'll keep him from doing anything stupid.

Paperwork showered the floor of the office as an irate Colonel Mustang shoved it off his desk.

"We've been looking, and looking, and getting nowhere! And if that's not enough, they bury us in damned paperwork just so that we can tell them how much we haven't found!" His teeth were gritted as he looked around the room at his men, all of whom were also busy on the same escaped convict case. He caught the glare of Lieutenant Hawkeye and immediately started to pick the fallen papers up, muttering about the ultimate uselessness of reports that stood in the way of any real progress as he did so.

Havoc leaned back in his chair, his signature cigarette hanging out of his mouth. "You need to let loose a little, colonel. Take a night to forget about the convict. Go get drunk." Havoc grinned. "Meet a lady."

Colonel Mustang stared at Havoc for a few seconds. Slowly, his mouth stretched to match Havoc's grin. "That's a great idea, Havoc!" He turned to his left, addressing his lieutenant. "Hawkeye, you're coming with me!"

"Is that really necessary, sir?" Riza Hawkeye stood and began picking up the fallen papers that Roy Mustang seemed to have already forgotten about.

"Of course, Lieutenant! I trust you more than anyone to keep me from doing anything I'll regret in the morning. I can get as drunk as I want!" He laughed.

Hawkeye shook her head, exasperated. She heard Breda and Havoc chuckling to each other about her being a babysitter. They were silenced when they saw her eyes shooting daggers at them.

"Then it's settled. I'll pick you up at your apartment at nine, Lieutenant. And wear something nice. You wouldn't want to embarrass me, would you?"

"No, sir." Riza knew he was joking; they both knew that the person most likely to embarrass Colonel Roy Mustang was himself.

...

This wasn't the first time that Roy had asked Riza to accompany him to a night of drinking, and Riza knew it wouldn't be the last. She sipped at her wine, a merlot, while watching Roy set another empty glass on the counter.

"Another whiskey, please." This would be his fourth. Roy began to go on a tangent about the military's budget distribution as he waited for his next drink, with Riza nodding in affirmation whenever he expected her to respond. He wasn't looking to have a discussion on the matter, but rather to fill the silence with anything that came to mind that he could latch on to, as long as it wasn't true business. By the time his drink arrived, delivered by a young woman who was most likely a student at the local university, his words were starting to slur as the alcohol began to take its toll.

Roy downed his new drink in three gulps, immediately signaling for another one. Riza rolled her eyes, still sipping at her first drink.

"As a colonel, I have the authority to make anyone whom I see fit a ranking officer under me. Black Hayate is a second lieutenant if I say he is, dammit! It is well within the military's capabilities and budget to issue him his respectful uniform! Is that too much to ask, lieutenant?"

Riza smiled. "No, sir."

Three drinks and several rants on Amestrian traffic legislation later, Roy raised his hand to signal for another drink. Riza gently laid her hand on top of his and pushed it down. "No, sir. You've had enough."

"It's not enough until I say it is, dammit." Roy's sentence came out as one jumbled word. "Another whiskey!"

The bartender, hearing him, walked over to refill his empty glass.

"Do not give this man anymore alcohol." Riza glared at the bartender, who hesitated.

"Come on, Riza, just one more drink!" Roy turned to the bartender. "Please!" His appeal sounded as if it had been made by a small child. The bartender began to yield, likely charmed by the man that was Roy Mustang.

Riza didn't give up. "This man has clearly had too much alcohol, and it is your _job_ to cut him off in such an occurrence."

The young woman nodded. "I'm sorry, sir. She's right; I can't give you another drink."

Roy began to lean back, defeated.

"Sir, no, you are on a bar-stool!" Riza leapt up and caught Roy from behind before managed to fall backward off his stool. Stabilizing him by his shoulders, she sat back down. She addressed the perplexed bartender, "We'll close the tab, now."

Riza felt a slight tugging on her hair as she was signing the tab. She glanced over at Roy, who was running his fingers through it with a dazed expression on his face.

"So soft. I want to sleep in it."

"Please stop that, sir. It's time to leave." Riza pushed the signed receipt toward the bartender and grabbed Roy by the arm that wasn't attached to the hand in her hair.

"Can't we stay just a bit longer?"

"No, sir. We're going home."

"We could dance. We haven't danced, yet."

"Sir, you are much too drunk."

Roy sighed and stood, stumbling a little as his weight shifted to his feet. Riza, still holding his arm, kept him steady. She made sure to take small steps with him, keeping him in a forward motion as best as she could.

The air was cool but not unpleasant as they left the bar. Roy took a deep breath and tried to lead Riza into the street, almost tripping on the curb before Riza caught him.

"It's nice. Let's walk home."

"No."

Roy shrugged, letting Riza lead him around the corner of the sidewalk. They had parked in an empty lot several blocks down when they had failed to find any street parking near the bar.

They passed a woman in a tight skirt and ripped tights who was leaning against a brick wall. She winked at Roy.

"Want a good time, honey? I don't mind three-ways, but it'll cost extra." She sent a second wink toward Riza.

Riza kept walking, but was pulled back by Roy, who had stopped to consider. He tried to take a step toward the woman.

"Roy, no." Riza yanked him back toward her and continued down the street, almost dragging Roy as he struggled to match her pace again.

"But she was so pretty." He was silent for a moment. "Not as pretty as you, though."

Riza was glad that it was night and that Roy was too drunk to notice the pink blush that suddenly warmed her cheeks. She attempted to ignore it.

A large dog barked at them from behind a metal fence that they walked by. Roy paused again.

"I love dogs!" He approached the fence and stuck his hand through toward the dog, which would have bitten him had Riza not pulled his hand back out in time. "But I wanted to pet it!"

"No!"

Roy whined incoherently as Riza continued to guide him toward the car. The walk that had taken ten minutes at the beginning of the night wound up taking thirty minutes as a result of a drunk Roy Mustang.

Relief washed over Riza when she spotted the car. Even Roy sped up his pace, freeing his arm from Riza's grasp and making his way to the driver's side.

"I am driving."

"No, you are not." Riza grabbed his arm again and directed him toward the passenger's side, opening the door for him and helping him lift himself to get into the vehicle. Once he was seated, she got in on the opposite side.

She watched for a minute while Roy struggled with his seat belt. "Sir, let me help you." She reached forward to grab it from him, but he yanked it away.

"I can do it." He missed the buckle again.

"No, you can't. Let me do it."

"Shush, I'm trying to concentrate." Another failed attempt.

Riza battled his hands away from the belt and buckled it for him despite his grunts of protest. He was silent as she started the car. As she pulled out onto the road, he muttered, "I almost had it."

By the time they had reached the first light, Roy had slouched so that his head rested on Riza's shoulder. She tried to ignore the soft tickle of his hair against her cheek as she focused on the road.

Suddenly, Roy's arm shot out in front of her face, pointing toward a building on the other side of the road. "That's Fullmetal's hotel! Let's go prank him!"

"No." Riza pushed his arm out of her line of vision.

"Come on, we could rent a room and then spend all night calling him and then hanging up!"

"No." Alcohol had him acting like a five-year-old.

Roy huffed as Riza kept driving. "Well I thought it was a great idea."

Riza pushed Roy's head off her shoulder as she turned right at the next intersection. "Sir, please try to sit up."

"Wha? Riza, this isn't the way to my apartment."

"No, sir. We're going to mine, where you will sleep on the couch. It is possible that your are unhealthily intoxicated and I want to keep an eye on you." If all she would be able to do was hand him glasses of water, it was still better than leaving him alone. The colonel would never admit to occasionally not being able to hold all of his liquor, but Riza had known it to happen from time to time.

There was an empty spot in front of Riza's apartment complex in which she was able to park the car. She helped Roy out of the vehicle, leading him up the stairs to her apartment one step at a time.

Once inside, Roy wandered around looking for Black Hayate, who was asleep on Riza's bed. Roy crashed down next to Hayate, grabbing the dog and aggressively patting his head. Riza quickly pulled blankets and an extra pillow from her linen closet to set the couch up for Roy. When she finished, she walked into her room to fetch the colonel.

Seeing Riza, Roy let go of a panicked Hayate, who scampered away to the next room. He looked up at her and grinned.

"The couch is ready."

"Can't I sleep in here, with you? It's much more comfortable that your couch." Roy stretched himself out on her bed, making eye contact with her through his eyelashes.

"No. You snore when you're drunk." Riza reached her arm out to Roy, offering to help him up. He reached out and grabbed her outstretched arm and then pulled, bringing Riza down on top of him. He hugged her similarly to the way he had held Black Hayate, as if he had no intention of letting go anytime soon.

Roy buried his nose in Riza's hair and inhaled. "You smell nice."

Riza lay still, knowing that she should get up but unwilling to do so. She could hear Roy's heart beating beneath her ear. Roy's hands stroked her back, and Riza felt him place a light but lingering kiss on her forehead. She tilted her head to look at him.

Roy shifted, sitting himself up with Riza in his lap. He took her face in his hands and pressed a kiss to her jaw. Riza's eye fluttered closed and her breath became shallow as she enjoyed the contact of his lips against her skin. He then kissed the opposite side of her jaw before planting butterfly kisses all over her face: her cheeks, her nose, her eyelids. Riza opened her eyes as Roy's face came close for another kiss, this one more focused than the others. Acting as quickly as she could through her own haze, she brought her index finger up and pressed it to Roy's lips before he could press them to her own.

"No."

Her voice was a whisper. Roy looked confused, like a puppy who didn't know why it was scolded. He bent his face down to place another kiss below her ear, letting his lips linger on her neck. "Why not?" His mouth brushed her skin as he talked.

"Because you are drunk and need to rest." Riza stood up and gestured toward the couch outside her room. "I've fixed a glass of water for you; drink it all before you go to sleep."

Roy stood, reluctant. He began to shuffle in the direction of his assigned sleeping area. "You won't close your door, will you? I want to see you as I fall asleep. I want to know you're there."

"No, I won't close the door." She watched him from her bedroom doorway as he settled himself onto the couch before she got ready for bed herself.

Riza was aroused in the middle of the night by strong arms encircling her waist and warm breath against the nape of her neck.

"Roy, no. Go back to the couch."

"Roy, yes." He squeezed her tighter.

Riza would have continued to protest, but had fallen back into a deep sleep before she could do so.

When she woke up again, sun was pouring in through her window, lighting up the room. Riza nudged Roy, who was still clinging to her from behind.

"It's not a weekday, is it?" He muttered against her skin.

"No, sir. It's Saturday."

"Then give me another hour."

Riza freed herself from his arms and turned to look at him, brown eyes meeting black. "How are you feeling, sir?"

"Sober, unfortunately. Hungover as hell. Cold, now that you've squirmed away." He reached out to take her in his arms once more. Riza relented, burying her face in his chest as he brought her close.

"Last night is a blur. I trust that you kept me from doing anything too terribly stupid?" His thumb rubbed her shoulder.

"You tried to get us into a three-way with a hooker, but I stopped you."

"That's a pity. I'm assuming from the fact that we are both fully clothed that nothing happened between us?"

"No, sir; however, you did try to kiss me."

"And you stopped me?"

She looked up at him. "I didn't want it to be because you were drunk," she whispered.

Roy grinned. "I knew I could trust you." He leaned down to kiss her cheek. "My dear, loyal lieutenant, whom I love with all of my heart... may I kiss you now?"

Riza felt her heart skip a beat as she momentarily forgot to breathe. "Yes."

He tangled his fingers into her hair as she threaded her fingers through his, bringing their faces together and allowing their lips to finally meet. They lingered there, until they both fell back asleep in each other's arms.


	2. Love: Your Worries Are Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Day 4: Love

Two strong thumbs slowly circled around the knots in Riza Hawkeye's upper back. A whisper of a moan escaped her lips. "A little lower, and more to the left. Yes, right there." She relaxed into the hands, relishing the firm yet careful touch. She absently stared across the room, trying not to be too conscious of the still-unpacked boxes lining the walls of their new apartment. Black Hayate was sprawled out in the center of the room, his leg occasionally twitching in his sleep.

"You really need to loosen up, Riza."

"We can't all take naps at work, Roy." She had caught him sleeping at his desk both that day and the day before, but the click of the safety on her gun was always enough to jolt him awake.

"Is that permission for me to continue taking them?" Roy Mustang chuckled, continuing his ministrations on her back, careful of her scarred neck out of habit. It had been two years, yet he was still hesitant to touch it.

"Fall asleep again and the shot I fire will be so close to your face that you'll have to restart that mustache you seem to be trying to grow."

Roy raised his hand to his upper lip, stroking the short bristles that had started to grow there. "Fuhrer Grumman was excited about it when I told him. He said it's coming in nicely." His hand returned to Riza, this time focusing on her midback, near her spine. Her shirt was thin enough that he could feel the scarred skin beneath, long healed but forever changed.

" _Fuhrer Grumman_ ," Riza started, "has devoted more time and energy to our own wedding than _we_ have."

"The man loves his granddaughter. Can't he do that?"

"The man needs to focus on a still-healing country. What need is there to make 'official' what the two of us already know? We don't need a certificate to tell us what we are to each other." Riza leaned her head against the back of the couch on which they sat.

"Grumman has already made an exception for us and waved the fraternization laws in our specific case. Without that, we wouldn't even be able to openly live together." Roy leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the base of Riza's neck. He hesitated for a moment. "Also, he feels that the public will be more receptive to a future Fuhrer who is married, rather than openly intimate with his bodyguard."

Riza whipped around. "What? He told you this? When? Is he stepping down?" Confusion flashed in her eyes.

"He told me a week and a half ago. He plans on making the announcement in a press conference after our wedding. He still has no plans on stepping down anytime soon, though; he just wants Amestris to see that his successor has been appointed, mostly for security reasons." Roy brushed his fingers up and down Riza's back as he talked, not making eye contact.

Riza stood and paced across the room, careful of Black Hayate. "But there's so much planning that this will require! Not to mention, you'll be more of a target now then ever before!"

"Then it's good that I'll have someone particularly skilled in watching my back constantly at my side." He stood and walked over to her, reaching out his calloused hand. When she took it, he pulled her close. "No one will be able to separate us again."

"Why didn't you tell me as soon as you found out?" She slid her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his chest, looking up at him.

"I didn't want to worry you." His onyx eyes were gentle, giving little indication of the horrors of the past that still lingered within them.

"When you love someone, their worries become your own. Your future is mine, Roy. What concerns you, concerns me." She buried her face into his soft cotton undershirt, inhaling deeply and catching the lingering scent of his cologne.

"Of course, Riza." Roy sighed, resigned. "I won't keep anything else from you." Roy kissed the top of her head and just held her for a few moments. He finally broke the silence. "I do have another concern, though."

"What is it, Roy?" Riza frowned. Had Roy gotten himself into trouble again?

"It's about Rebecca Catalina. I mean, really - Maid of Honor? At _our_ wedding? I'd be much more comfortable with Rebecca not being present at the wedding at all, as I really feel that it would reduce my chances of being shot."

" _Roy_." Riza rolled her eyes.

"Or even in Amestris, for that matter. Can't we send her to Xing for a week, instead?"

Riza shook her head. "Not going to happen. If anything, I'm going to need her there to keep you grounded. I can only imagine how a soon-to-be-married soon-to-be-Fuhrer Roy Mustang will behave."

"Are you calling me pompous?" Roy feigned incredulity. "At the event when all of my dreams begin to come true, you want to reign me in?"

"Won't your dreams start coming true a week later, when Grumman makes the announcement?" Riza raised an eyebrow.

"Marrying the woman I love has always been part of those dreams. They start coming true with you."

Riza shook her head at Roy's romantic declaration. "I love you, too." She reached up and pulled his head down for a kiss. When they separated, she rested her head on his shoulder. "And Rebecca stays."

Roy sighed. "Fine. She can stay. Because I love you."

Riza smiled before kissing him again.


	3. Reunion: See You Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Day 5: Reunion

Cool metal pressed into Riza Hawkeye's arms as she leaned over the railing of the hospital roof. She watched the top of Dr. Marcoh's head until he disappeared through the hospital doors. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and Riza took pleasure in closing her eyes to let the warmth of the sun fully kiss her face.

The hospital staff had given her permission to wander as she wished three days ago, even though she was still technically a patient; the wound on her neck had healed enough that they trusted her on her own, as long as she wasn't gone too long. They still wanted to be the ones to change her bandages for at least a little bit longer, to ensure that the wound wouldn't reopen, and had thus not yet discharged her. Roy Mustang, however, wasn't allowed out of the hospital room without a nurse to escort him. While his hands had healed efficiently, the staff had some concerns about letting the blind colonel roam free.

Hopefully, that would change within the next hour. Both Jean Havoc and Roy Mustang were currently waiting together in the hospital room for Dr. Marcoh to arrive with the philosopher's stone. Havoc was temporarily occupying Riza's bed so that the doctor would have full access to his spine and legs. Riza had considered staying to offer support, but ultimately decided that the small room would be much too crowded and that the doctor most likely needed his space to work.

So Riza had escaped to the roof, where she could enjoy the fresh air that she had been deprived of for weeks while in her hospital bed. The sound of birds in the nearby trees and the breeze on her skin were welcome solace after enduring the maddening squeaking that the hospital carts made for so long. Time ceased to exist as Riza stood there with her eyes closed, just enjoying the peace.

If the stone worked, Roy would be back on his path of pursuing his dreams. Riza knew that nothing could truly return to the way it was before the ordeal with Father and the homunculi, but at least she and the colonel could tackle any future problems together, without anyone threatening to split them apart again.

The door to the roof creaked behind Riza. She snapped open her eyes and whirled around, coming face to face with the colonel, a sly smile on his face. Riza inhaled sharply when she noticed that his eyes were once again pitch black, devoid of the gray that had recently clouded them.

"Colonel-"

"Really, Riza. We've been sharing a room for several weeks now. I think you can call me by name when it's just the two of us, don't you?"

"Roy." Riza smiled. "They already let you come up here on your own, just like that? You must still be at least a little disoriented."

Roy reached forward and ran his fingers through her hair. "I didn't ask for permission; I simply told them where I was going and left." He grasped her shoulders and pulled her into a tender hug. "I said that I wanted to see the sun for the first time since losing my sight, but that was a lie." He gently cupped her face in his hand, meeting her eyes with his once more. "I really just wanted to see you again."


	4. Family: Settling Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Day 6: Family

The small white puppy squirmed in Roy's hands, making small squeaks in an attempt to escape back to her mother's side. He sighed and returned her to the dog bed in the corner of the apartment, where she snuggled close to her siblings and sleeping parents.

"I know I've said that I love dogs, but five is a bit much." He sat down at the table, fingering through the paper that had been sitting there since that morning. He absently glanced at the pictures, not truly paying attention to the paper's contents.

Riza walked over, setting down two mugs of steaming tea before kissing him on the head. "Hush, now. Hayate's family is our family." She sat down next to him, sipping at her tea to test if it was still too hot.

Roy glanced at her from the corner of his eye, admiring the way the ends of her light hair barely brushed past her shoulders. She had cut it when they had gone to rebuild Ishval, and she was finally letting it return to its former length. Ishval was mostly secure now; Amestris was secure, despite the many changes that Roy still planned to make when he finally became Fuhrer. Even Fullmetal was settled down in his own life with Winry and his children in Risembool. "Family, huh?"

"Look, if you're so worried about having five dogs, I was considering giving one of the puppies to Elicia. Also, Fuery has expressed interest in taking one since he moved out of the barracks into his own place. But I want to keep at least one." Riza set her mug down and looked sternly at Roy.

Roy looked aghast. "Give them away? But they're family, you just said so! We can't separate a family." He knew that distributing puppies was commonplace, but suddenly the idea of giving part of Hayate's litter away was horrifying to him. He had seen enough families separated in his lifetime.

Riza chuckled. "Going soft, General?"

Roy reached out across the table and took her hand in his. Her palm was still warm from holding her tea. "It's just, family." He smiled softly. "We could have one."

"You mean children?"

"Yes."

A frown darkened Riza's face. "You know that's unrealistic." She pulled her hand from Roy's and got up, making her way over to the kitchen for more sugar.

"But why is it unrealistic? Amestris is at peace; nothing is threatening us. There's never been a better time!" He craned his neck, trying to catch her eye as she walked back over to the table. She averted her face.

"You'll be Fuhrer soon. Then, there will be many things threatening us." She sat and spooned the sugar into her tea, stirring it as a distraction from Roy's pleading gaze. "And my ability to protect you would be compromised for almost an entire year while pregnant."

"Then I would find someone else to protect me during that time."

Riza looked astounded. "You honestly think that you could find someone as qualified as _me_ to watch your back?" She shook her head. "And even if they were, I still wouldn't trust them with your life."

Roy sighed. "You're right."

"And who would raise our child?" Riza continued. "You can't quit as Fuhrer, and I'm not leaving your side in the military until Amestris has finally become what we've dreamed it can be."

Roy already knew he had been defeated. "We could have Havoc babysit." He managed a small smile at her.

"I'd rather our theoretical child not develop lung cancer by the age of five, Roy."

"He said he was trying to quit."

"Mmhmm."

"It's just that everyone is settling down. Fullmetal, whom I still think of as a child, has children of his own. Scar's in Ishval, no longer blowing people up. Even Havoc has managed to find himself a stable relationship." Roy ran his hand through his hair. "For the first time since we were kids ourselves, a peaceful, semi-normal life seems possible for all of us."

Riza finally looked at him, her eyes bittersweet. "But we _did_ settle down. We moved in together, we got married. When you proposed, I explained to you that I probably wouldn't want children, and you seemed content with my answer, then." She rejoined her hand with his, running her thumb over his rough knuckles. "For me, you and the dogs are all the family I need." She brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed his scarred palm.

Roy nodded, resigned. He knew she was right. "I don't need children to be happy with you, Riza. But I had hoped that you might change your mind."

Riza smiled after a few moments of silence. "Ask me again in five years, and I'll reconsider." She held up a hand at Roy's suddenly joyful expression. "That's not a guarantee that my answer will be a positive one, though. Just a promise that, in five years, I'll think about it."

Roy's grin stayed on his face as he stood, swooping his wife into his arms and placing a large wet kiss on her cheek. "That's all the hope I need!"

Riza rolled her eyes, her grin matching his. "How could I possibly take care of a child now, when I'm already so busy taking care of _you_?"

"That is an excellent point, Captain Riza Hawkeye Mustang." He leaned down for another kiss, this time on her lips.

Riza laughed and broke away, taking her tea with her to the couch and opening up a novel. Roy walked back over to the sleeping puppies, startling them awake in his approach. He squatted down, earning the attention of six glistening eyes. Hayate and his mate stirred for a moment before they realized that it was Roy who was disturbing them. They settled back down, accustomed to his strange antics. Roy scooped the three puppies into his arms.

"From now on, you shall all be my children, and I will raise you accordingly!" Roy carried them across the room and sat down with them on the couch, next to Riza. "First thing's first, you are all to be spayed and neutered as soon as possible." He looked sternly at the white one. "No bringing home stray dogs like your father Hayate did."

A choking noise came from Roy's right. He looked over at Riza, who was trying to stifle her laughter, her book forgotten. She rested her head on his shoulder, looking down at the puppies in his lap. "We should name them."

"Maes, Trisha, and Berthold."

" _No_."


	5. Journey: Tiny Bit of Happiness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Day 7: Happiness

The compartment hummed around them as the train approached their destination. Riza lightly nudged Roy awake, disturbing his head from her shoulder. "We're almost there, sir."

Roy squinted around the compartment, disoriented. He brought the back of his hand up to his mouth and wiped saliva away before looking at Riza. His gaze fell to the shoulder he had slept on. "I drooled on you." The corners of his mouth betrayed a grin. "Forgive me."

Riza took a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at the dark spot on her uniform. "Think nothing of it, sir. It will dry."

Roy rolled his eyes. "It's just the two of us still, Riza. No need to start using formalities again quite yet. Let's wait until we're back among the brass to return to using titles." Roy leaned back in his seat, hearing his back crack as he stretched. "Two years spent rebuilding in Ishval, and we're finally coming back to Central. How are you feeling, Riza?"

Riza considered for a moment, before sighing. "It feels like we still have a lot to do."

Roy nodded. "I'm sure it will be a while before Ishval and Amestris are truly at peace, but I trust that we're leaving the remaining reconstruction in good hands. Scar and Major Miles know to alert us immediately in the event that conflict occurs." He reached down to scratch behind the ears of Black Hayate, sleeping on the seat next to him. The dog was probably the most excited of all of them to be going back to Central.

"I wonder what Fuhrer Grumman needs us for, though, to summon us on such short notice. You're sure he didn't say? You don't think he's considering stepping down already, do you?"

"I doubt the old man would be willing to give up his position so soon." Roy frowned, thinking. "It could possibly have something to do with the reforms to the state alchemy program that I had been discussing with him. But he made it clear that our return is not meant to be a temporary one."

Silence hung in the air as the two sat together, thinking. Roy noticed as Riza's brow began to furrow, her eyes serious.

"Something on your mind?"

"We've come a long way since that first time we returned from Ishval. At least this time we were there to right the wrongs we had previously committed." Riza sighed. "Before the Promised Day, when the fate of all of Amestris was in question and we could only communicate by code, I often found myself wondering if fate was only dealing out to us what we deserved. But then we survived, and watching the people of Ishval return home and start to put their lives together made me think that maybe at least a little redemption is possible for us. Maybe we can allow ourselves some tiny bit of happiness." She smiled at Roy, her eyes pleading for him to agree with her.

Roy held her eyes, remaining silent for a few moments, processing her words. "Maybe we can." He reached into his pocket and took out a small box. He placed it in Riza's hand, watching her fingers curl around it as she held it up to inspect it.

She looked at him, perplexed. "What-?"

"You should open it." He watched her face intently as she pried the box open, grinning at her sudden gasp.

"But Roy-"

"I already talked to Fuhrer Grumman. He says he's willing to wave any military laws that would otherwise stand in our way. Something about a special exception for two of the people who helped save the citizens of Amestris from a deranged homunculus." He watched Riza remove the ring from the box and inspect it in the sunlight that shone through the window. For once, he found himself unable to read her. "Well?"

"Well, what?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's your answer?"

"You haven't asked me anything." She smiled, enjoying her chance to tease him.

Roy took her hands in his, smiling goofily at her in exasperation. "Riza Hawkeye, will you marry me?"

Riza stared at him silently for a few moments, seeming to consider. Finally she answered. "Yes."

Roy let out the breath that he didn't know he had been holding and beamed at her. He took the ring from Riza's hand and began to slip it onto his finger.

"But I have a condition."

Roy paused. "A condition?"

"Well, there are several things that we'll need to discuss, but one major condition: Hayate is part of the package."

Roy laughed. "I wouldn't dream of separating you from Hayate." He finished slipping the ring on, then admired it. It was a small stone on a simple white-gold band, tiny enough to keep from getting caught on anything while big enough to still be noticeable. He was soon distracted by cool hands cupping his face. He looked up to see Riza leaning down to kiss him. Soft lips pressed against his and he melted into them.

Once the kiss was broken, Roy leaned back, content. "I agree with what you were saying earlier. Our journey isn't over. We may have a happy ending, yet."

The train whistle blew as it pulled into the Central station. Roy began to straighten his uniform out, watching as Riza did the same.

"Ready to face Central again, General?" The corners of her mouth turned up in a smile that would likely be impossible to erase for quite some time.

"Only if you're there to face it beside me, Captain." Roy quickly swooped down to kiss her cheek as the train made a complete stop.

"Of course, sir."


End file.
